Several years ago, Nemesys Music Technology introduced its groundbreaking GigaSampler program. The virtual sampler could play huge samples directly from a computer hard drive and could crossfade, layer, and switch among hundreds of samples within a given instrument. Because of its reduced dependence on RAM, GigaSampler could create highly expressive and realistic reproductions of acoustic and electronic instruments.

Nemesys, however, didn’t rest on its laurels. The company has been refining and enhancing its product line, and its latest flagship product, GigaStudio 160, is quite a step up from the original GigaSampler. Offering 64 MIDI channels, up to 160 notes of polyphony, real-time effects, onscreen mixing and routing, enhanced sampling performance, and a host of other goodies, GigaStudio 160 could be the primary sound source for your next masterpiece. (NemeSys also offers GigaStudio 96 [$399], a “lite” version of GigaStudio 160 with 96-note polyphony, 32 MIDI channels, and fewer effects.)
GigaStudio 160

FIG. 1: GigaStudio 160 sports a spiffy new user interface. Common features are rarely more than a couple of mouse clicks away. (click for larger image).

GigaStudio 160 comes on two CD-ROMs and installs quite easily. Once the software is installed, a configuration wizard takes you through the necessary settings.

I reviewed the original GigaSampler in the March 1999 issue of EM, so I won’t repeat myself here. However, there are plenty of new things to talk about, including the spiffy new user interface. Several graphical screens provide intuitive and efficient access to all the program’s functions. I was rarely more than one or two mouse clicks from any feature I needed.

The Main Panes
 Almost all GigaStudio interactions take place within a single three-paned main window (see Fig. 1). Across the bottom, a QuickSound area lets you easily access or convert your computer’s sounds. The navigation bar (in the upper left) and the main display next to it appear above the QuickSound area. The selection that you make in the Navigation bar determines what you see in the Main display.

The main window also provides a few menu items and a toolbar for commonly used features. Status indicators at the bottom of the Navigation bar show the number of voices in use, the peak number of notes used in a session (for monitoring available polyphony), the available memory, and the CPU processing demand. MIDI activity indicators are also provided for each of GigaStudio’s four MIDI ports.

GigaStudio’s ports each support 16 MIDI channels, providing a total of 64 parts. Each port can be controlled by its own MIDI input (if you have a multiport MIDI interface), and you can also connect the same MIDI input to multiple GigaStudio ports for some nice layering effects. If you use a sequencer and GigaStudio on the same machine, the four GigaStudio ports appear in the sequencer as independent MIDI outputs.

Each Port has an entry in the Navigation bar, and selecting a Port provides access to its four corresponding screens: the MIDI Mixer, the Loaded Instruments screen, the MIDI Control Surface, and the Distributed Wave Instruments. You open each screen by clicking on the appropriate index tab at the bottom of the Main display (just above the QuickSound area); each screen includes the 16 Instrument slots (one for each MIDI channel) across the top.

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Reprinted with permission from Magazine, December, 2000
© 2000, Intertec Publishing, A Primedia Company All Rights Reserved


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